Fantasy Football Recap Week 4
With four games in the books, we have a pretty good idea of who the teams are at this point. But four weeks into a crazy 2022 season, I wonder what we really know. Our Fantasy Football Recap Week 4 looks back on some of the things we think we know. One thing I know first-hand is living through hurricanes and massive flooding is brutal. That hit hard this week when one of my friends in the football community got hit hard. If you’re in a position where you can help, please do. Anything helps. Back That QB Up It’s been said that being a backup quarterback is the best gig in sports. I think that probably applies to guys like Chase Daniel and Josh McCown, who had lengthy and lucrative careers in that role. But Week 4 showed the importance of having a reliable understudy. The Giants were forced to temporarily go Wildcat after Tyrod Taylor, who had already stepped in for Daniel Jones, was forced from the game. The Browns and Falcons both employed starters who were backups last year. New England was forced to go to the bench and start Brian Hoyer but he was quickly knocked out which necessitated New England going to the backup’s backup. On Thursday, Teddy Bridgewater got the call after that scary injury to Tua Tagovailoa. Unfortunately, it looks like Ole Teddy Bridgequarterback might be under center for a while in Miami. Kenny Pickett made his NFL debut after Mike Tomlin benched Mitch Trubisky. Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to another surprising win in his third relief appearance. Zach Wilson returned to lead the Jets to a victory after Joe Flacco started New York’s first three contests. Although the overall results were mixed for these QB2s in Week 4, one thing we know is teams are typically only as good as their quarterback. Whether he’s a starter or reliever. Uni-Watch Not a fan of Washington’s new all-black uniforms. Every time they would go to Dallas I felt like I was watching the Steelers playing both at home and on the road. And after watching how poorly Pittsburgh played with both quarterbacks, nobody wanted to see that. The Saints’ new look was fine. Except for the helmet. It would have been pretty sharp with a solid black helmet instead of the stripe of fleur de lis down the center. Too busy. Maybe they weighed Will Lutz down ever so slightly. I generally don’t like when teams wear colored pants and jerseys together but for some reason, I’m ok with what Arizona wore. Of course, that didn’t seem to help the offense’s early struggles. Going back to Thursday, the Bengals showed how to employ a new alternate/helmet combo. No surprise that Cincinnati, no doubt motivated by the slick new digs, came away victorious. Looking at you, Commanders. Of course, having the best uniforms in sports isn’t a guarantee of success, sadly. No matter what city they play in. At least the Raiders finally got that first W. And looked good doing it. Backfield Breakdown With so few teams employing a workhorse running back, it is important for us to track how teams are dividing their backfield touches. Here are the fantasy opportunities from some of Sunday’s backfields. Opportunities means carries plus targets. Atlanta – Tyler Allgeier 24 snaps, 11 opp.; Cordarrelle Patterson 16 snaps, 9 opp.; Caleb Huntley 12 snaps, 10 opp. Baltimore – J.K. Dobbins 35 snaps, 17 opp.; Justice Hill 25 snaps, 10 opp. Buffalo – Devin Singletary 55 snaps, 16 opp.; Zack Moss 6 snaps, 3 opp.; James Cook 2 snaps, 1 opp. Cleveland – Nick Chubb 40 snaps, 21 opp.; Kareem Hunt 36 snaps, 13 opp. Dallas – Ezekiel Elliott 39 snaps, 21 opp.; Tony Pollard 24 snaps, 10 opp. Jacksonville – Travis Etienne 24 snaps, 8 opp.; James Robinson 22 snaps, 8 opp. New Orleans – Mark Ingram 29 snaps, 13 opp.; Latavius Murray 26 snaps, 12 opp. New York Jets – Breece Hall 46 snaps, 23 opp.; Michael Carter 31 snaps, 11 opp. Philadelphia – Miles Sanders 55 snaps, 30 opp.; Kenneth Gainwell 22 snaps, 7 opp. Washington – J.D. McKissic 38 snaps, 12 opp.; Antonio Gibson 30 snaps, 16 opp. Week 5 Preview Indianapolis at Denver (-2.5) New York Giants at Green Bay (-7.5) Detroit at New England (pick) Pittsburgh at Buffalo (-13) Houston at Jacksonville (-7) Chicago at Minnesota (-6.5) Miami at New York Jets (+6) Tennessee at Washington (pick) Seattle at New Orleans (-6) Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland (+1.5) Atlanta at Tampa Bay (-9) San Fransisco at Carolina (+3) Dallas at Los Angeles Rams (-7) Philadelphia at Arizona (+4) Cincinnati at Baltimore (-4.5) Las Vegas at Kansas City (-6.5) The 2022 NFL season is well underway but it’s not too late to get access to the best help out there! All FullTime Fantasy members get exclusive access to our 24/7 Chat Room on Discord! All morning on Sunday, Senior Analyst Jody Smith will be standing by to answer all your crucial start/sit and keep you updated with all the latest news and injury updates. JOIN OUR MAILING LIST! 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Manic Monday: Week 4
I absolutely hate talking on the phone. It’s so bad that I sometimes won’t even patronize a business or service if I actually have to speak to a live person. I had to do that this weekend due to a mix-up on a floral arrangement I ordered, with predictable frustrations. Just goes to show how different things are. When I was a kid, a knock on the door or the sound of that wall-mounted telephone ringing were instant highlights at our house. It could be somebody looking for me! Now, about the only time my phone rings, it’s this Spam Likely person who won’t take a hint, and if the doorbell rings, I literally try to duck down and hit mute on the tv. Sure, I’m risking missing out on Girl Scout cookies, but it also could be a local politician or somebody soliciting a service that nobody actually needs. Keebler makes the same thing as Girl Scout cookies, BTW, and they’re like $2. Just goes to show how things change over time. Speaking of time, a general rule to follow is that teams are who they are after four games…one-quarter of the season. It’s not a firm rule, but usually, teams that are terrible defending the run or incompetent on offense pretty much stay that way. Four games seems to be enough of a sample size. Of course, like everything else, things can change in time. If you’re off to a 1-3 start or worse, remember how things can change in time. 2021 has been one of the most challenging years ever, but I’m also blessed to be here still, writing Manic Monday every week. Thanks for sticking with me through the turbulence. I hope that’s one thing that doesn’t change. Did I Mention Change? While we’re on the topic of things changing, not just the weather was dramatically different in Week 4. Watching all of the Sunday games brought to mind just how different things can be from week-to-week in the NFL. Last week, I pointed out how awful Hollywood Brown looked dropping multiple would-be touchdowns and the Ravens barely beat the Lions on a record-breaking last-second field goal. This week, Brown made an exquisite diving touchdown grab in the end zone and the Ravens walked into Denver and pummeled the formerly undefeated Broncos. Credit where credit is due, Zach Wilson looked substansically better this week. The No. 2 overall pick got this first win while throwing for 297 yards and a pair of scores against one pick. Wilson completed some beautiful passes and easily had his best game as a pro. Quite a contrast to his first three games, and encouraging for disgruntled Jets’ fans. Minnesota’s offense looked quite impotent after the first quarter. Kirk Cousins entered Week 4 as one of the steadiest signal-callers around and drove his team to a first-quarter score but that would be if for the Vikings. Dalvin Cook returned after a one-week absence and was held to 44 total yards on 11 touches. We’ll see if it was an anomaly or Cleveland’s defense quite soon as the Vikings host Detroit Sunday. Where We Were Right We projected WR Deebo Samuel to have a WR1 performance against Seattle and Samuel certainly didn’t disappoint. Samuel snagged 8-of-12 targets for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 75-yarder. Samuel has led San Francisco in targets each week and gets an appealing matchup with Arizona next. Terry McLaurin was out WR7 on the slate and came through in a big way. Entering Monday, McLaurin is sitting as the No. 4 wideout for the week after putting a 6/123/2 line of the Falcons. Despite the uncertain quarterback situation, our projections loved David Montgomery this week, ranking him eighth. I almost blew this on in Discord but Deebo saved the day in the afternoon slate. We’ll keep an eye on Montgomery’s health this week as he was forced to exit Week 4 early. Where We Were Wrong That lackluster showing by the Vikings wreacked havoic on our projections. I already mentioned Dalvin Cook’s quiet return, but WR Adam Thielen was held to three grabs and 46 yards. The Brown allowed a WR1 performance in each of their first two games but have been excellent since. Our projections were far too low on Atlanta QB Matt Ryan. Knowing how bad that Washington’s secondary has been all season, this is something I should have caught. Granted, Ryan’s play in Weeks 2 and 3 didn’t exactly inspire much confidence but Ryan generally plays better at home and had a big four-score outing. Everyone whiffed here, but what happened to Chris Carson? He wasn’t hurt and the game script was about what we expected, yet Pete Carroll gave Alex Collins 10 carries, and Collins out-rushed Carson. Nothing seemingly happened to warrant a sudden committee, which makes it doubly frustrating for Carson, who we had ranked as a solid RB2. The 2021 NFL season is well underway but it’s not too late to get access to the best help out there! All FullTime Fantasy members get exclusive access to our 24/7 Chat Room on Discord! All morning on Sunday, Senior Analyst Jody Smith will be standing by to answer all your crucial start/sit and keep you updated with all the latest news and injury updates. JOIN OUR MAILING LIST! GET THE LATEST ARTICLES & UPDATES Subscribe to our FREE newsletter – Breaking Fantasy news & site updates! Like and share our new Facebook page! Be sure to pay attention to our giveaways for your shot at some sweet prizes!